The Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) is a national non-profit children's media production and policy hub. The ACTF helps develop children's television policy; distributes and pays for Australian children's television series; supports new children's media; and develops screen resources for the education sector. The ACTF provides funding and support to independent Australian producers and writers of children's programs.

History

The founding director of the Australian Children's Television Foundation,

Patricia Edgar Patricia May Edgar AM is an Australian author, television producer, educator and media scholar, best known as the founding director of the Australian Children's Television Foundation. Early life and education Edgar was born in Mildura, Vi ...

, was the driving force behind its establishment. As the chair of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal's Children's Program Committee for five years, enforcing children's program standards and the children's drama quota Edgar argued that quality programs would not be made without a

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

production company creating exemplary programs
Patricia Edgar's
arguments caught the attention of the Victorian Minister for the Arts

Norman Lacy Norman Henry Lacy (born 25 October 1941) is an Australian former politician, who was a Minister in the Hamer and Thompson Cabinets of the Victorian Government from May 1979 to April 1982. He grew up in Richmond, Victoria and was educated at N ...

, who invited her to work with him. They agreed to join forces to promote the proposal for the establishment of an organisation to achieve their shared objectives. Lacy then used his ministerial membership of the Australian Education Council and the Australian Arts Ministers' Conference to initiate the establishment of the Australian Children's Television Foundation. He appointed Edgar to the Arts Ministry staff to steer the project, provided office space and establishment funding, and won the support of NSW Education Minister Paul Landa with whom he co-chaired the early steering committee meetings.Edgar, Patricia. ''Bloodbath: A Memoir of Australian Television'', Melbourne University Press, 2006 In early 1981, Lacy addressed the Senate Standing Committee on Education and the Arts arguing for the strategic and national importance of a Commonwealth commitment to recurrent funding for the fledgling Foundation. The Senate Standing committee report ''Children and Television Revisited'' recommended the establishment of an independent children's television production unit, which was the impetus for the foundation of the ACTF, to be funded by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

with contributions from state and territory governments.Senate Legislative and General Purpose Standing Committees -The First 20 Years 1970 - 1990

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

, 30 May 2003. Lacy's political advocacy and practical support coupled with Edgar's intellectual capacity and lobbying skills eventually won through, but before the ACTF could be established Lacy lost his Parliamentary seat at the election held in 1982. Patricia Edgar then turned her attention to funding support from the Commonwealth Government with the support of Dame Beryl Beaurepaire who was President of the Liberal Party. Ultimately, the ACTF was established with Commonwealth Government support collectively matched by all the state governments except

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

with Edgar as the inaugural Director.Spaull, Andrew. ''ibid'' She served in this role for 20 years, effectively kickstarting the Australian children's television production industry. Her programs include ''

Winners Winners Merchants International L.P. is a chain of off-price Canadian department stores owned by TJX Companies. Its market niche is similar to the American chain TJ Maxx, and it is a partnered retailer to department stores HomeSense and Marshall ...

, Kaboodle, Touch the Sun,

Round the Twist ''Round the Twist'' is an Australian children's comedy drama television series which follows the supernatural adventures of the Twist family, who leave their conventional residence to live in a lighthouse, in the fictional coastal town of Port ...

, Lift Off, The Genie From Downunder, Sky Trackers, Crash Zone, L'il Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers,

Yolngu Boy ''Yolngu Boy'' is a 2001 Australian coming-of-age film directed by Stephen Maxwell Johnson, produced by Patricia Edgar, Gordon Glenn, Galarrwuy Yunupingu and Mandawuy Yunupingu, and starring Sean Mununggurr, John Sebastian Pilakui, and Nathan ...

Noah and Saskia ''Noah and Saskia'' is a 13-episode TV program initiated, developed and produced by Patricia Edgar for the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) and the BBC as she stepped down after 20 years as Founding Director of the ACTF. The 13 ...

'' and the ground breaking '' Kahootz.'' Her programs won more than 100 national and international awards including four AFI Awards, two Logies, an International Emmy Award, the Prix Jeunesse, a Japan Prize, a Banff Rockie Award, a Grand Jury Prize at the New York Festival. Production value exceeded $100 million. After Edgar stepped down to produce Noah and Saskia for the ABC and the BBC, Jenny Buckland was appointed

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

in July 2002. Major productions that the ACTF was involved with between 2002 and 2008 included ''Holly's Heroes'', ''

Mortified ''Mortified'' is an Australian children's television series, co-produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation and Enjoy Entertainment for the Nine Network Australia. The series premiered on 30 June 2006 and ended on 11 April 200 ...

'', ''Double Trouble'' (with

CAAMA The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) is an organisation founded in 1980 to expose Aboriginal music and culture to the rest of Australia. It started with 8KIN-FM, the first Aboriginal radio station in the country. Based in ...

) and two series of '' Lockie Leonard''. ''Mortified'' won more national and international awards than any other children's program in FFC history. All those series were commissioned by commercial broadcasters, as a result of the quotas. The ABC was only commissioning very small amounts of children's drama during those years and most of its shows, other than its in-house productions such as '' Play School'' and ''

Behind The News ''Behind the News'' (more commonly known as ''BTN'') is an Australian children's news program televised by the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Described as an 'educational news program aimed at 10-13 year old kids', ''BTN'' is commo ...

'', were imported. In 2006 the ACTF publicly highlighted the opportunity afforded by the switch to

digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using Digital signal, digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an ...

to provide a much better media service for Australian children, calling for the establishment of a dedicated digital public channel for children. Ultimately the ACTF joined forces with the ABC to champion this idea, which received support from the

Howard government The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...

during the 2007 Australian election campaign. The

Rudd government Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) * Rudd government (2013) {{Dab ...

gave the ABC funding which saw it establish its children's destinations on

ABC2 ABC Family is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of family and teen entertainment programming. The channel oper ...

(for pre-schoolers) and

ABC3 ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...

(for school-aged children) in 2009. ABC3 attracted new entrants and original programming ideas. New programs commissioned by the ABC and supported by the ACTF from 2009 include ''My Place'' 1 & 2, three series of ''Dance Academy'', several series of ''

Nowhere Boys ''Nowhere Boys'' is an Australian teen drama fantasy television series created by Tony Ayres. It was first broadcast on ABC3 (which is now officially named ABC Entertains) on 7 November 2013. The first two series follow the adventures of fo ...

'', three series of ''Bushwhacked'', and more. The history of Australian children's television and the ACTF are inextricably linked, with the ACTF playing a pivotal role in supporting distinctively Australian programs, and advocating for the support mechanisms required to produce those programs.

ACTF Chairman and Board

The ACTF continues to receive funding from the Commonwealth and all States and Territories (

is now included). Each State and Territory Government has the right to nominate a member of the board, and the Commonwealth Government may nominate three members.Those ACTF Board members may elect up to three independent board members. There is a long and distinguished list of people who have been on the board over its 35-year history, but the most extraordinary contribution of all is that of

Janet Holmes à Court Janet Holmes à Court, AC, HonFAHA, HonFAIB (born Janet Lee Ranford on 29 November 1943 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian businesswoman and philanthropist. She was the Chairperson of one of Australia's largest private companies ...

. Janet joined the board as a representative for Western Australia in 1983. She was elected chairman of the board in 1990 and has been re-elected every year since. She is now an independently elected member of the board. The headquarters of the ACTF are on Smith Street in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

suburb of Fitzroy.

Awards

Productions

Notable television series developed or assisted by the ACTF include: *

Dance Academy ''Dance Academy'' is an Australian teen drama television series produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two began airing on 12 Ma ...

The Genie From Down Under ''The Genie from Down Under'' is a British-Australian children's comedy television series. It was a co-production between the ACTF, the BBC and the ABC (Australian TV channel), ABC from 1996 to 1998. ''The Genie from Down Under'' is based on an ...

Li'l Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers ''Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers'' is an animated musical children's television series and the Australian Children's Television Foundation's (ACTF's) first joint venture under the Distinctly Australian Program introduced by the Australian Pr ...

Worst Year of My Life Again ''Worst Year of My Life Again'' is an Australian children's television series that premiered on 26 April 2014 on ABC3. It was produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) and Reflective Pictures for the Australian Broadcas ...

* Lockie Leonard * Double Trouble * Mal.com * Noah & Saskia * My Place * Lift Off *

Johnson and Friends ''Johnson and Friends'' is an Australian children’s television program that originally aired on ABC from 3 September 1990 to 10 July 1997. It was produced by Film Australia and was created by Ron Saunders, John Patterson and Ian Munro. I ...

* Spellbinder (followed by its sequel series Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord) * Touch The Sun *

You're Skitting Me ''You're Skitting Me'' is an Australian children's sketch comedy series that began airing on 29 February 2012 on ABC3. The cast consists of six teen actors who make up the main cast, as well as another six teens who make up the additional cast ...

* Crash Zone *

Bushwhacked! ''Bushwhacked!'' is an Australian children's adventure television series which first aired on ABC3 on 6 October 2012. ''Bushwacked!'' follows hosts on weird and sometimes deadly wildlife missions around Australia. Hosts * Kayne Tremills 2012&nd ...

(followed by its sequel series Bushwhacked! Bugs) *Flea-bitten! *

Holly's Heroes The following list of programs are currently broadcast by the Nine Network / 9HD, 9Go!, 9Gem, 9Life and 9Rush as well as their regional affiliates, including WIN, NBN and Imparja as well as catch-up service 9Now. Some affiliate stations hav ...

* Kaboodle * Worst Best Friends * Legacy of the Silver Shadow * Sky Trackers *

The InBESTigators ''The Inbestigators'' (stylised as ''The InBESTigators'') is an Australian mystery children's television series. The show stars Abby Bergman, Anna Cooke, Aston Droomer and Jamil Smyth-Secka as Ava Andrikides, Maudie Miller, Ezra Banks and Kyle ...

* Little Lunch * The Flamin' Thongs *Wakkaville *WAC: World Animal Championships *Top Enders * The Gift * The Dukes of Broxstonia *Seen But Not Heard *

Ready for This Ready for This may refer to: * Ready for This?, a comedy album by Tim Minchin * Ready for This (TV series) ''Ready for This'' is an Australian teen-oriented television drama series that premiered on ABC3 on 5 October 2015. It follows five Ind ...

(followed by its movie Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows) *

Little J & Big Cuz ''Little J & Big Cuz'' is an Australian animated television series first screened on the NITV network in 2017. The 13-part series is directed by Tony Thorne and produced by Ned Lander and developed with the Australian Council for Educational Re ...

* Hardball *First Day (followed by its TV series of the same name) * Escape from Jupiter (followed by its sequel series Return to Jupiter) *Dancing Down Under * C/o The Bartons *Balloon Barnyard *

Mustangs FC ''Mustangs FC'' is a 2017 Australian comedy-drama TV series aimed at young teenagers and starring Emmanuelle Mattana as the lead character. The show is set in suburban Australia, and focuses on Mustangs FC, an all-girls soccer team, and focuse ...

*Wacky World Beaters *Songs of Innocence *MY:24 *Desdemoda *Black Knight White Witch *Casa De Evil *Itty Bitty Ditties * Laser Beak Man *Mega Bites *Monster Chef *My Strange Pet *

The Girl From Tomorrow ''The Girl from Tomorrow'' is an Australian sci-fi children's television series produced by Film Australia. The series is based around #Alana, Alana (Katharine Cullen), a girl from the year 3000. At the start of the series, she is kidnapped by ...

(followed by its sequel series The Girl from Tomorrow Part II: Tomorrow's End) * Horace in Slow Motion * I Got a Rocket * The Valley Between *The Greatest Tune On Earth * Hoopla Doopla! * Lah-Lah's Adventures * Waabiny Time *

Animalia Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

* Cybergirl *

Backyard Science ''Backyard Science'' is an Australian educational children's television show based on the Dorling Kindersley book of the same name that aired from 28 August 2003 until 2007. The series was originally commissioned by Super RTL and TVOntario, and ...

(followed by its sequel series WOW! That's Amazing) *A Field Guide to Being a 12-Year Old Girl *The Funny Ones *

My Brother Jack ''My Brother Jack'' is a classic 1964 Australian novel by writer George Johnston. It is part of a trilogy centering on the character of David Meredith. The other books in the trilogy are '' Clean Straw for Nothing'' and '' A Cartload of Clay''. ...

* Deadly * Dogstar *Boxwars *Handball Heroes *Language of Belonging *

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

Paper Planes A paper plane is a toy airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocke ...

Blinky Bill the Movie ''Blinky Bill the Movie'' is a 2015 animated adventure comedy film based on the Blinky Bill character created by Dorothy Wall for a children's book series in 1933. The film was produced by Flying Bark Productions and partly distributed and co ...

(followed by its TV series

The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill ''The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill'' is an Australian animated television series based on the books by Dorothy Wall, and a sequel series to the 2015 film ''Blinky Bill the Movie''. Plot Blinky Bill is back to bring his trademark mischief, m ...

) *

100% Wolf ''100% Wolf'' is a 2020 Australian animated adventure fantasy comedy film directed by Alexs Stadermann and produced by Alexia Gates-Foale and Barbara Stephen. It is adapted from Jayne Lyons' 2009 novel of the same name. It features the voices of ...

(followed by its TV series 100% Wolf: Legend of the Moonstone) *The Big Wish * The Unlisted *DisRupted *Summer's Day * Thalu *Red Dirt Riders *Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors? *Built To Survive *

The PM's Daughter ''The PM's Daughter'' is a ten-part Australian political comedy drama television series aimed at children and teenagers. It premiered on ABC Me on 1 January 2022. Cast *Cassandra Helmot as Cat Parkes Pérez *Natalie English as Sadie *Jaga Yap a ...

Born to Spy ''Born to Spy'' is an Australian children's television series. ''Born to Spy'' was created by Justine Flynn, produced by Naomi Just, Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford. It was written by Tiffany Zehnal, Tristram Baumber, Michelle Lim Davidson ...

*Planet Lulin *

Kangaroo Beach ''Kangaroo Beach'' is an Australian animated television series for preschool children which debuted on ABC Kids on 25 January 2021. It was created by Tim Bain, who is also a writer with Charlotte Rose Hamlyn, Simon Dodd and Samantha Carroll. ...

Space Nova ''Space Nova'' is an animated science fiction television series developed and produced by SLR Productions and German distribution unit ZDF Studios for the Nine Network and Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia and Super RTL for Germa ...

Plasmo Plasmo (stylised as PLASMO) is an Australian children's science fiction claymation television series that consisted of a half-hour short film ("Happy Hatchday to Plasmo") made in 1989 followed by thirteen 5-minute episodes made in 1996 which a ...

* Kahootz

References

External links

* {{Authority control Television production companies of Australia Non-profit organisations based in Victoria (state) Organizations established in 1982 Children's television 1982 establishments in Australia Foundations based in Australia Television organizations